I have to choose between OSU and WM by basically today or tomorrow for scholarship purposes. As far as my decision goes, I am pretty stuck as to how to proceed. I go to OSU for undergrad, so I am familiar with the city of Columbus and all it offers. My main concern with WM is the size of Williamsburg. Anyone have thoughts on the schools?

If you knew you were going to be stuck within a 20 mile radius of either school for the next 10 years, which would you choose? We'll call that School A.

What is the total cost of attending both schools, including living expenses?

Now, assume you chose School A, and it's cheaper to go to school at School B, would that difference in cost be enough to persuade you to move to the area within 20 miles of School B for the next ten years?

It's basically that simple. If its cheaper to go to School A, then you have your answer and you can stop the analysis right there.

Be forwarned that it will be difficult to get a job out of either school. Probably only a 15% chance at Big Law, another 5% chance at a "prestigious" clerkship, another 5% chance at a "respectable" clerkship, and a 40% chance of not having a job at all when you take the Bar Exam.

For OSU, it would be $16,000 for tuition plus $11-12,000 for room. Let's put that at around $84,000. W&M would be $30,000 for three years plus a similar room fee. So, $128,000 or so. I would graduate from OSU with about $20,000 in debt versus WM at around $68,000.

I suppose that makes sense. From a lot of my friends in law school, they suggest going to the school that will be the least expensive.

No clue how it compares to Columbus, but Williamsburg is a small and quiet town/city. There are a handful of bars, its pretty touristy with Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. It's not really rural though. Also, 45 minutes in either direction is Richmond/Norfolk which are medium sized cities.

If you have ties to Ohio though and its cheaper, what's the case for W&M unless you want to work in VA.